#Lower Mainland BC

[farsight-the-char]

Predictable but also concerning.

BC is such a fucking disaster.

[rickchung]

Inter Miami CF vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC x BC Place Stadium x False Creek.

[VWFC] announced their 2024 Major League Soccer (MLS) season schedule and for the first time ever, the Lionel Messi-led [...] soccer team will play a long overdue match against the Caps next spring.

Match scheduled for May 25.

[reflectionsofgalaxies]

.

[ruinconstellation]

Environment Canada has now issued a special weather statement for the south and central coasts warning of another atmospheric river set to arrive on Saturday night.

The weather system will bring "significant" amounts of rain, strong southerly winds and mild temperatures and is forecast to last through Sunday night, the weather agency said.

Article dated Oct 28, 2022.

[strongheartneteyam]

A New Beginning.

Pairing: Neteyam Sully x female!human!reader/female!avatar!reader

cw: lots of fluff, angst, hurt/comfort, slightly sexual language, kissing, hugging, tsaheylu is mentioned, TRIGGER WARNING for brief talk of death (of Reader's human body), Jake and Neytiri being the best in-laws ever

@anika-rose-walker Here's your request after ages lol I'm so sorry, boo 😅

I changed the plot from what you asked a little bit (Neteyam and Reader are already together, instead of confessing to each other throughout the story) bc I had already written the beginning of it when I went back and read the rest of your request lol I hope you don't mind. I love you sm and I hope you like it, my lovely Kayla 💕

PS: in this story, going through a transference of consciousness from a human body to an Avatar is not as dangerous as it used to be because it has been done many times before. I have no idea if it makes sense but pls just go with it for the sake of it being easier to write 🥲 my wrist hurts so bad 

na'vi words: tsaheylu (neural bond that the na'vi make with their mate), yawne (beloved), yawntu (loved one), paskalin (sweet berry), muntxate (female mate), muntxatan (male mate), oeyä (my, mine), sevin (pretty), tawtute (human)

Not proofread. Sorry if some parts are a bit off but I can't fix it rn lol

༉‧₊.

The suns of Pandora were shining bright in the sky that day but nothing was brighter than your smile. You were overcome with happiness as what you had been anticipating for so long was finally gonna happen: you were getting your own Avatar, a body that would let you experience Pandora without that damn oxygen mask that held you back, not letting you breathe the fresh air and worse, not letting you kiss your na'vi boyfriend Neteyam unless you two were inside the lab. You were the daughter of one of the best scientists of the laboratory so you always spent a lot of your time there, but Neteyam was a busy young man and he couldn't visit you at the lab everyday which sucked. You were so addicted to him that spending even a single day without feeling his plump blue lips on yours, his soft and wet tongue lapping and sucking on your tongue felt like a kick in the stomach. You truly felt lovesick whenever it happened. Talk about a strong love and being needy for someone.

You were walking through the Omatikaya mainland, where all the people's huts were, and looking for your boyfriend. You hadn't told him you were gonna get an Avatar. You wanted it to be a surprise. Your brain could not comprehend that you would finally be able to make tsaheylu with Neteyam. Tsaheylu, man! Imagining being able to feel his affection for you through the bond, his need and desire, feel the pleasure he was feeling as the two of you mate… that felt otherworldly and so incredibly exciting. It's a connection beyond what your human brain could comprehend, honestly. Only your na'vi brain would be able to fully understand it.

Neteyam ended up finding you before you could find him. There was a sea of tall blue aliens around.

“Sevin tawtute!” He called out to you loudly, his voice excited 

When your ears heard that beautiful voice and your eyes saw his large figure, you ran to his arms and held him tight, your head only reaching his waist, so much taller he was than your human frame. You wondered the height difference you two would have once you were Dreamwalking.

“Oooh! I'm glad you're this happy to see me, muntxate!” Neteyam put his big hands on your head and pet your hair softly.

“Teyam, I got something wonderful to tell you!” You looked at him, as happy as a kid who just got a gift they'd been waiting for ages to get

Neteyam got down on his knees to cut your height difference almost in half.

“What is it?” He smiled, his fangs charmingly touching his lower lip

“My father just told me earlier today that my Avatar is ready.” Your eyes shone like stars in a dark night sky 

“Your what?!” His striped blue face betrayed his surprise

Neteyam's heart started beating fast. Was his yawne truly telling you what he thought she was?

“Are you serious, princess? Why didn't you tell me about it? My Eywa…” he chuckled, still incredulous 

“I wanted it to be a surprise! I wanted to see this beautiful surprised look on your face, muntxatan.” You look so cute. I love you so much.” Your eyes started to water

Neteyam smiled even wider. He took your oxygen mask off and quickly used both his large hands to grab your face and crushed his lips against yours, before putting it back on again.

❦︎

You opened your eyes and your vision seemed to be better as you tried to get used to the bright white artificial lights of the Avatar first testing room in the lab.

“How are you feeling, (y/n)?” Your hearing was surely much sharper as you heard those words coming from a nurse's lips in a much louder volume than you would in your human body. 

You moved your fingers and raised your hands up next to your face so you could look at them. Your fingers were blue and your wrist had some bioluminescent freckles on it. God, your skin looked much more beautiful now than it did in your human body. You were afraid you were already liking this body much more than your original one.

Your focus was so much on your new experience in your Avatar that you forgot to answer Julia's - the nurse - question.

“Can you hear me, (y/n)?” You got out of your trance and finally looked at her 

“Yes. Yes, I can! Really well, by the way.” You smiled at her. Your fangs touching your lip was a new sensation, a really cool one.

After the scientists and nurses ran some tests with you on your new Avatar, you finally were able to change from your hospital like clothes and went out of that cold room wearing some dark jeans shorts and a simple white sleeveless shirt made of a cotton like material.

You saw Neteyam sitting in one of the brown sofas in the next room. His beautiful face looked tense.

All his tension faded away as soon as he saw you. His pretty yellow eyes shone as he took your appearance in. Neteyam didn't think he could ever fall even deeper in love with you but that had just happened.

“Oeyä muntxate… you look breathtaking. Oeyä sevin yawne…” he walked slowly towards you, still enchanted by the sight of your Avatar body

Neteyam held you by your waist, bring you close to him and gave you the most tender of kisses. You kissed him back, your lips almost trembling with happiness and affection. Neteyam tasted your mouth, his tongue licking not only your tongue but your fangs too, exploring your new na'vi body. He loved how similar you were to him now just as much as he loved the differences between the both of you when you were in your human form.

❦︎

Some weeks passed and you had never been more happy. A short period of time lived being able to Dreamwalk and kiss Neteyam in the woods, on the Sully's hut and in any other place you wished to brought you much more joy than all the years you lived before.

You and Neteyam were standing in front of the lab. You two were about to say goodbye and you would wake up in your human body. But there was a feeling inside of you that you had been haunted by for some time now and it was getting harder and harder to fight it. You finally spilled it out.

“I think I wanna leave my human life behind and become one of the people. If they will have me. If you will have me…” somehow you felt insecure, as if you forgot how happy Neteyam got whenever you were by his side

Surprise was all over his face.

“Are you sure of what you're saying?”

“Yes, I am. I've never been more sure of anything in my life. I know it seems sudden… I'm tired of being human… I'd much rather be your mate and learn archery, learn to cook na'vi recipes, worship Eywa, participate in the sacred rituals, run free in the woods instead of worrying about human social rules, live among artificial lights, eat junk food - don't get me wrong, you know I love some good hamburgers” Neteyam laughed at your remark “but fresh hunted meat, seasoned with herbs and wild spices tastes much better. Also…” You looked into his large feline eyes “I wanna spend more time with you, I wanna live in our own hut… I wanna be always by your side, my Teyam. I hope you don't find me too needy.”

“Of course not, yawntu. The more you need me, the better ‘cause I need you too. So much.”

He stole a happy smile from you with those words.

“And, yawne… How could you ever doubt if I will have you be na'vi and always be with me, live in our own hut? Darling, that's all I've ever wanted. Only Eywa knows how many nights I've talked to her, wishing that it could happen one day.” His voice was full of heartfelt truth

You breathed out, relieved.

“We can talk to my dad about it. He's been through it himself before, I'm sure he can be of great help.”

You nodded and smiled “Okay.”

❦︎

After Neteyam took you to talk to the Olo'eyktan of the Omatikaya tribe, his dad Jake, his tired face lit up and he smiled, showing no teeth or fangs at first.

“You sure of it, kid? It's a big deal. Your human body is gonna die and that can be really traumatizing to your head."

“I know, Mr Sully. I've thought about that. I can deal with it if it means getting to live as one of the people forever.” You said sternly 

“You're also gonna make a big commitment by becoming na'vi. You're gonna have to learn to use weapons, to hunt, to be fearless. You're gonna have to prove yourself worthy and go through your Ikinimaya before being truly considered one of the people. Are you up for it?” He looked like a mix of a father giving some life lessons to his kids, like a military chief of some kind and like a fierce leader. All three were indeed a part of him.

“Yes. I will do my best to prove myself worthy of becoming na'vi.”

Neteyam watched the two of you, some tension inside of him, as he felt like maybe his father was being too harsh on you, but he also knew he was doing what he had to as the Olo'eyktan and as someone who had once made the same decision you were making now and knew very well what he was talking about.

“Then you have all my support!” Jake finally smiled wide and opened his arms towards you “give me a hug, kid.”

You gladly walked until you got to where he was squatting - not that far from where you were sitting cross legged before - and hugged your father-in-law.

Neteyam smiled too.

“Thank you, Dad.”

When it came the time to talk to Neytiri, things went smoother than you had imagined. It seemed like a dream, in all honesty.

“You do whatever your heart tells you to do, paskalin.” Neytiri smiled at you “I believe Eywa herself chooses every human who decides to become one of the people. How could you say “no” to a request coming from the Great Mother?”

Your brain could not come up with words to describe how happy and relieved those words coming from your mother-in-law made you.

❦︎

Talking to your dad broke your heart a little. Your mother had died and you were his only family now.

“I just don't wanna lose my little girl.” Your dad was now sniffing. You felt bad as you never saw him cry.

“I'm not leaving you, Dad! I'm gonna visit you all the time! You're always gonna be my Dad. And you can always visit me when you have some free time, too.” You tried to comfort him by holding his hand as the both of you sit in your bed, in your bedroom

“I know. It's just not gonna be the same. And I'm gonna miss your beautiful human body. I'm gonna miss the girl I've raised since she was a little child.” You felt a stab in your heart. You honestly had not thought how much of a shock it would be to your dad to see your human body die. You felt a little selfish.

“She's still gonna be here.” You touched the place where your heart was, inside your chest “My soul will not change. I'm still gonna be me.” You looked into his eyes, trying to convince him of that

“I know. I just want you to be happy and if that's how you're gonna find your true happiness, I'd never try to be on your away.”

“Thank you, dad. I love you.” You hugged him and he felt a little better

You eventually broke the hug.

“I want you to come to my transferring of consciousness ceremony. Can you try and find some time on your busy scientist schedule to come and see your daughter wake up in her new body?”

“I wouldn't miss it for the world!” He gave you a supportive smile

The next step would be your transferring of consciousness ceremony. Mo'at seemed utterly happy to perform it. She wasn't that affectionate but you could read her feelings in her big amber eyes.

That night you slept in peace, knowing that the next time you would go to sleep again, you would be in your then permanent na'vi body and inside Neteyam's arms, your mate, the love of your life, probably making tsaheylu, as connected as you two could ever be. As one.

♡

Taglist:

@criticallybella

@yeosxxx

[bigjimbopickens]

Cupcake and colourful lights!!!

I’m in the BC Lower Mainland rn visiting various people for the weekend and I brought her with me just so I can get photos like this. Here is some more:

The other suiter in the 2nd pic is my friend @ scotchishh on IG :3

This was a lot of fun, even if I accidentally hurt my knees by jumping off a ledge and not realizing how high up I actually was. Whoopsies!

Enjoy :)

[piqtescue]

If your watching "Under The Bridge" or planning to, here's a PSA from someone born & raised in that city. Oh, and Kelly's personal info and location bc she deserves absolutely no peace✨😊

((if you dont know this series, or who im talking about, I swear to god I do not do reveal personal information lightly and take revealing someone else's very seriously- but Kelly is a cold blooded psychopath and I urge you to google what she did))

I couldn't believe it when I heard the worst crime that has ever happened in my city was going to be made into a fucking hulu drama... I used to be so intrigued by true crime renditions, but this has made me rethink it all. The murder of Reena is something that makes us as locals sick to our stomachs, is still a very open wound to our city and her family and every day so many of us are forced to drive over the Craigflower Bridge, the place where she was brutally murdered. She was 14.

I never plan to watch "Under The Bridge" on Hulu as I really don't need it replayed back to me in a miniseries, but just need to give some PSA's here + gonna give you some recent photos of Kelly/Kerry and her location because she doesn't deserve the luxury of people forgetting what she fucking did:

To start, I'm not throwing shade to anyone watching the show- I know this doesn't affect everyone the same. Just want to make sure this bitch's face & the real story is plastered in your mind so you can publicly shame her if you wish, and realize this isn't just a miniseries- this actually happened.

Though the author who wrote the book this was based on was in search for their "humanity"- there is zilch in that sector for Kelly Ellard. None. See, Kelly was a teen when she lead the brutal murder of Reena and you might be pointing "upbringing and trauma/mental health" to blame- but don't even go there for a second. Warren is 100% holding the same sin for what they did but displayed actual guilt and talked to her parents. He knows what he did wrong and will live for it the rest of his life.

Kelly, a privileged psychopath from birth, is a disgusting, soulless slime who deserves nothing but to suffer for the rest of her days. Go read up on her parole hearings and realize in no way is she remorseful and in no way does she deserve to walk free or be a mother. She doesn't deserve to fucking breathe. Though if you read her most recent parole hearing, you will hear her speak of this series being "disrespectful to Reena's family": I want you to know she has finally learned to say what they want her to say after all these years; she doesn't give any fucks about Reena's family, all she cares about is leaving the past behind her but jokes on her- she will never get that luxury because we as residents won't let her.

✨Here's her new name/photos/insta account/location, ect✨

-She goes by Kerry Marie Sim now

✨Photos of what she looks like presently: here, and here and here.

✨Instagram: kehrisima007

Fun fact! In the second link I provided, she uses the hashtag "legally kidnapping our children" in relation to the Ministry of Child and Family Development's (canadian version of DCFS) involvement in her life. That was posted in 2021. Her day parole was then continued in 2022 & 2024, and it's unknown if she still lives with her children, but lets hope to god not.

✨Location:

Going by this article, she might be serving her sentence in the Fraser Valley Institution for Women, or might just have had her parole hearings there. But apart from the prison she's in, she is most definitely doing her day parole in the lower mainland of BC, from the looks of her instagram she hangs around Surrey and Langley.

----------

To end this PSA, if you ever do visit our city and are intrigued by this case as a true crime story enthusiast, I urge you to not come to the Gorge where Reena lost her life at in interest/excitement, but come with the intention of paying your respects and give a thought on just how far teen bullying can go, and how you yourself can advocate for it not to get to that point. Whether it be awareness, talking to your kids about speaking up or advocating for public discussion.

And if Kerry ever sees this: we will never let you have peace. You get no peace for your acts, and we will never. fucking. forget.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The union representing rapid transit and rail workers in Metro Vancouver has notified its members that all transit may be shut down on Monday. That includes the SkyTrain, buses and SeaBus systems. Global News has obtained a copy of an internal memo from CUPE 7000, which states: “Our friends at CUPE 4500, transit supervisors at Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC), are getting ready to walk out Monday morning. They are meeting with a mediator (Sunday), but if they don’t get a fair deal, they will be withdrawing all services at 3:00 a.m. Monday morning for 48 hours. This will mean a complete shutdown of all bus and SeaBus services in the Lower Mainland for two days.” CUPE 7000 said CUPE 4500 has filed a complaint with the Labour Relations Board against TransLink, BC Rapid Transit Company, West Coast Express and Protrans for taking steps to reduce the impact on customers during the strike escalation.

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[nikkeisimmer]

Deteriorating Disc Disease

...is starting to affect my hands and their ability to hold heavy objects. Which is one of the reasons why I had to give up my D300s and my 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII and forget ever holding a 600mm f/4 lens ever again. So some memories from my life as a photographer.

Double-crested Cormorant landing on Green Timbers Lake.

Coal Harbour, Vancouver, BC,

Stanley Park and English Bay

Surrey Public Library, Surrey, BC

Fog on the Fraser, Fraser River, Lower Mainland British Columbia

Two double-crested cormorants swimming

Stanley Park Willow at Sunset

I'll miss it, but well, sometimes with age, things go away that you wish could continue.

[cetitan]

Living in BC that's anywhere but the lower mainland every time you mention you love rain there is a 100% chance guarantee that whoever you're talking to says I bet you've never lived on the coast!, shut the fuck, shut the fuck up, go google pictures of Haida Gwaii, google Great bear rainforest, asshole

[farsight-the-char]

I only consider myself Canadian when I post this gif as a reaction to American Democrats.

[rabbitcruiser]

Summit Lake Pass, BC

The region [British Columbia Interior], which includes the Interior Plateau as well as various mountain ranges and the valleys between them, comprises everything inland from the Coast Mountains and reaching east to the Rocky Mountains and, in the northeast, British Columbia's sector of the Prairies, the Peace River Block. "Interior" is usually and properly capitalized but turns up in lower-case in various books and magazines. The non-coastal areas of the province are considered to be "in the Interior", although the sparsely populated regions of its northern half are usually referred to only as "the North".

The town of Hope, at the eastern end of the Fraser Valley and at the foot of the Fraser Canyon, is often considered the "Gateway to the Interior" and bears an entrance arch to that effect, though in practical terms the Interior does not begin until somewhere between Yale and Boston Bar, in the Fraser Canyon, or until the summits of the Coquihalla and Allison Passes. The boundary between "the Coast" and "the Interior" along the Highway 99 corridor is nominally between Whistler and Pemberton, as Pemberton is often described as being in the Interior, but from the inland perspective it is often seen as part of the Coast because of its wetter climate and close ties to the Lower Mainland.

There are many subregions within the Interior, some regions in their own right, and although there are no precise definitions, it is often broken up informally as the Northern Interior, the Central Interior, the Southern Interior, the Northeast Interior and Southeast Interior, and these names often appear in non-governmental organizations and company names as well as in government administrative districts and ministerial regions, and in weather reports.

Source: Wikipedia

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"The category of race was also critical to the second pillar of the CFU’s [Canadian Farmworkers Union] organizing mission: ridding the industry of contractors. Contractors would supply the labour force for the farmers and, in many cases, they held as much power as the farmers. The contractor was responsible for hiring a workforce, maintaining discipline, and making payments. The farmer would not pay the workers directly; instead, the farmer would pay the contractor who, in many cases, would retain the money until the end of the season. In many instances, the contractor was also responsible for transporting workers between the field and their homes. Since labour contractors were trying to maximize profits, the vehicles they used to transport workers predictably violated many road safety standards. As Chouhan remembers, his first contractor: “came to pick me up in an Econoline van which had no seats in it, there were people sitting on the floor which was quite a shock [laughs]. No seat belts, no nothing.” Many workers have been killed due to accidents in these unsafe vehicles, and, as recently as 7 March 2007, three farmworkers died in a rollover accident while riding in an overcrowded vehicle between Abbotsford and Chilliwack. Often, contractors were from the same social and ethnic circles as the labourers whom they employed. Charan Gill identified a “colonial mentality” in comments made by farmworkers. Since the contractors who provided them with work shared familial and cultural ties with them, some of which could be traced back to Punjab, many farmworkers did not want to stand up to the contractors. Fears of losing jobs and housing were very real, and such losses could jeopardize their immigration status. Contractors who came from the same community as the workers could manipulate the latter into believing they were on their side, and, because of this, Gill notes: “in spite of our efforts, individual interests [of workers] sometimes invalidated collective interests [of their class]” because some of those workers aspired to be contractors. Simply getting safety information to farmworkers was also difficult. Since many of the workers could not read or write in English, and some were illiterate in their own languages, they were often dependent on information from the farmer and the contractor. Contractors could intentionally mislead, omit certain information, or outright lie to their workers about their legal rights. This delayed organizing efforts. To counter this information block, organizers would try to go to local temples on the weekends, where many workers went to pray. However, the labour contractors also had control over the temple executives, so organizers were often refused the right to speak. Frustrated, the organizers developed a two-part strategy. First, they would have “kitchen meetings” in which the organizer would contact one worker for a meeting in their home, and that worker would contact neighbours and friends, so “that way [they would] not [be] afraid to be seen by a labour contractor or in the temple or in a public place.” Second, because many families used the temples for social events, the organizers would ask family members to invite the CFU and thus circumvent the temple executives as organizers of social events had the “absolute right to invite anyone they want[ed].”

These strategies helped the CFU reach out to potential members and to provide valuable information regarding their legal rights. Unfortunately, despite the efforts of the CFU, contractors are still a part of the industry to this day, and anyone driving through the agricultural areas of British Columbia’s Lower Mainland can witness the painted-over shuttle buses that daily transport farmworkers from home to field."

- Nicholas Fast, ““WE WERE A SOCIAL MOVEMENT AS WELL”: The Canadian Farmworkers Union in British Columbia, 1979–1983,” BC Studies. no. 217, Spring 2023. p. 44-45.

[goshen-applecrumbledore]

Are there things that you would've changed/added/removed in the story of supernatural? Can be early or late season and, of course, entirely self indulgent.

good morning!! this is a very popular opinion so I'm not adding anything new to the conversation, but, broadly: they should have always been on the road. the HEART of the show was that they lived in that car, and once they didn't, it was a different show. call it bad or good afterwards, but it was fundamentally changed.

on a more self indulgent note. obviously this doesn't work with the way TV shows are made, but as a fantasy: if they'd been able to actually film on location in the US. BC's lower mainland can fake a surprising number of biomes but it'll never be, like.. new orleans. florida. minnesota. etc. getting more of that unique weather and terrain in there and not just trees and wet.

[burialuntrue2007]

15 questions + 15 friends

tagged by @afoolofhope and @ioannemos, thanks guys!

Are you named after anyone? i'm pretty sure my name is from the Bible so kind of named after the minor prophet Micah When was the last time you cried? last night Do you have kids? no way!!!!🙅 (i'm open to possibly having a kid one day but not for a long time) What sports do you play/have you played? i was on a floor hockey team for like one semester in high school, i've never been very comfortable with sports although that's improving with age Do you use sarcasm? not really What is the first thing you notice about people? besides their face.. this might sound corny but one of the first things i notice is probably how comfortable they seem with themselves What's your eye color? blue Scary movies or happy endings? i do like both but if i had to choose one i'd definitely say happy endings Any talents? pretty talented at drawing but i haven't done that much lately Where were you born? BC lower mainland What are your hobbies? drawing, going to the movie theatre, walking, listening to music and podcasts/documentary videos, following nba basketball, watching tv of course Do you have any pets? nope How tall are you? 5'7" Favorite subject in school? philosophy was my major and definitely my favourite thing to study ❤️ Dream job? id like to run my own small business one day

i tag: @aforeffortenjolras @thisbrilliantsky @hummingbirdsaltimolockia @sunheart @artimies6 @morfinwen @gargoylegf @rithmeres if you feel like it + whoever else of my dope followers and mutuals who would like to do it

[thechikamorilegacy]

The Chikamori Legacy

Chapter Two: "Escape" (Part V)

Next Day, River’s GTO

River found out that there wasn’t a direct ferry to Cape Garner from the Lower Mainland. She would have to drive to Tsawwassen, she had originally gone to the ferry terminal Horseshoe Bay in North Vancouver – that was effing annoying – (AN: well, they didn’t have Google Maps back in those days). The direct ferry to Cape Garner was from Victoria so not only would she have to take a ferry from Tsawwassen to Victoria, then she would have to get in the line up, hopefully not packed, of people going to Cape Garner. It was frustrating, but she stopped by a McDonald’s to grab herself a bite to eat, before driving down, taking the Trans-Canada Highway until she hit Exit 27, merging onto Rupert Street, she headed to Knight and took that straight down until she was able to get onto BC-99 and from there to BC-17. BC Ferries fares for vehicles were about §27.00.

Plus on top of that the fares at the terminal required those who had no prior booking by telephone to wait for those who had reserved prior to board first before loading. This required waiting one sailing wait since the ferry that was at the dock was currently overbooked. That turned into two sailing waits and a run to the nearest washroom. Then she had to sit for those who had booked that sailing to board first. Then she was able to get her vehicle onboard. She headed up to the observation deck and wandered about. Food prices were expensive so she didn’t bother with eating anything during the Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay and who knows if they had anything there. She’d probably have to wait until she got to Cape Garner to buy any sort of meal. She thanked her lucky stars that she’d had the foresight to get a decent number of burgers at McDonald’s on the way down. So she dug into her meal and ate the now relatively cold fries – since she wasn’t really able to divert her attention from the road while driving such a large car. The crossing took about an hour and a half and at about 10 minutes to docking, River heard the announcement to return to her car which she did. It was about half an hour after they docked that they managed to get rolling onto the ramp off the ferry and up towards Swartz Bay’s line up. She went down about six point two miles to the local McDonald’s and pulled in. Getting another round of burgers for the road, she drove back to the ferry terminal and paid for the trip to Cape Garner. She wasn’t going to waste any time sight-seeing around Victoria, she was a woman on a mission. And that mission was to nail down the man she wanted to spend her life with even if she had to drag him kicking and screaming into therapy.

This particular ferry wasn’t as heavily packed and she was able to get on easily. This was going to be a hell of a sail because of BC Ferries. If one wanted to go to Texada Island proper, one would drive up all the way to the Little River terminal and take a ferry from there to Powell River and then from Powell River to Blubber Bay, but if one wanted to go to the lesser known islands of Cape Garner, then they would have to take a ferry direct for 6 and a half hours pending sea conditions from Swartz Bay to Cape Garner Ferry Terminal. What a royal stinkin’ pain-in-the-heiny. Because for some reason, some scheduling genius decided that there wasn’t any need for local ferry service to Texada Island or Powell River or even to Courtenay/Comox. Good ol’ Cape Garner was happily cut off from anywhere but Victoria, BC. By the time she was able to load onto the Cape Garner bound ferry, she was well and truly pissed off. At least gas prices were cheap and she was able to fill up her tank for a little over twenty-five dollars.

Then going up to the main deck; it was too cold to go out onto the observation deck so she enjoyed the view from the windows near where the walk-on passengers were seated. The seas were calm for winter. Though of course, the ferry captain did say that there were going to be some rough patches with winds gusting up to fifty-eight km/hr and some choppy water. That was going to make some of the 6 hour journey tough. Gale force winds ramped from forty to ninety-five km/hr and well, 58km/hr was a pretty nasty clip. And BC Ferries usually cancelled their sailings if the wind was between 70-95 km/hr because then the likelihood of swamping and potentially capsizing could occur. It was interesting seeing very little land on either side and it seemed almost like open ocean, but you could still see some faint pinpoints of land on either side that told one that they were in a strait and not the open ocean.

River nearly fell asleep in the chair but halfway through the voyage a couple of persistent young men kept pestering her and it was only after she called the Chief Steward on them for harassment, that they got the message that she was not in the slightest bit interested in any of what they were insinuating she might be interested in. Guess some people don’t get the message very clearly unless it is read out to them like the riot act. At least, to her pleasure, she was left alone after. She had no desire to talk to other people. And she had only one goal in mind in going to Cape Garner, and that was to get it through that thick skull of Haruo’s that she was not going to treat him like Mayumi did and that she loved him and that the best thing for him to do was to get with the program. And she was not leaving until he did.

It was near 7PM and nearly dark when she got off the ferry at Cape Garner and…

…noted the hotel along the main drag. Luckily the diner was still open and she was able to get something to take the edge of her hunger that four cheeseburgers from McDonald’s wasn’t able to cure.

Then checking in, she went about taking a luxurious bath with some bubble bath, then thoroughly drained from her day of travel, she headed off to bed; the travel clock on the night-table reading 9:15PM.

Morning seemed to come too early as she heard the alarm go off at 7:00AM. It was not the best wakeup she ever had – stiff and sore from a backpack and tossing and turning making sure that she went over where she’d parked. There was an underground parkade under the hotel, but since the vehicle had only been lent to her, she wanted to make sure that it wasn’t stolen. And a GTO would fetch a considerable amount on the black market. And that would not go over well.

Waking up and taking a nice long shower, she washed her hair which was feeling rather grimy from the travel yesterday, and wrapped it up in a towel while she picked out her clothes to wear for the day. She was heading up to 20 Channel View Bluff and come hell or high water, she and Haruo were going to have it out, once and for all…and she was going to walk out of there the victor – with him in tow…whether he was going to be bound and gagged or walking freely was completely up to him.

But first, she was going to stop by the diner and have breakfast. Things always worked out better on a full stomach. At least that was the way that it seemed to work out for her. And well, there was no reason to change a good thing. So once her hair was just damp, she towel-dried her hair and took a loose comb to it. Then she used a curling iron and gave her hair some waves. Applying her eyeshadow and eyeliner, then blush, then putting some lipstick on, she gave herself a good look in the mirror. She was dressed and made up to the nines…and she was planning to make sure that Haruo was definitely going to think twice about saying no.

The diner had some nice breakfast; bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, sausages and River was pretty full by the time she finished her meal. Of course, half of it went into a doggy bag…so that she could eat it later and she went to put it in the fridge that was provided for her in her little suite at the hotel.

She then steeled herself, got directions to 20 Channel View Bluff and got in her GTO.

The road wasn’t too challenging though there were some parts where the road got pretty close to the trees, but she managed to negotiate it. Luckily the gate was open so she pulled in. She shut off the engine and got out of the car.

Striding to the door, she eschewed the doorbell and knocked loudly on the door; banged on the door would be more accurate. If there was somebody dead in the house, they’d probably sit up going “What the hell was that!!!?”

“What the hell???” was the loud exclamation from the interior of the house.

As the door opened, she glared at him, “I want to know what the fuck that was back there!!!”

“What? River…what are you doing here?”